Labor groups want Tulfo out

The Nagkaisa labor coalition urged President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to sack Special envoy to China Ramon Tulfo for betraying his countrymen when he called Filipino construction workers “lazy” and “slowpokes.”

According to Nagkaisa chair Sonny Matula, Tulfo’s statements were “inimical to the interest of Filipino workers,” proving that he was unfit to serve in the government.

“Mr. Duterte should fire him. Tulfo is behaving like the special envoy of exploitative contractors of the construction industry. It will be a disservice to the country if he will stay a minute longer in his post,” Matula said.

He added that even if Tulfo would change his mind and issue an apology, they would still seek his resignation for his “betrayal of the country” given that he chose to side with Chinese workers.

Even Tulfo’s own brother, journalist Erwin Tulfo, called on him to do “the right thing” and apologize.

“I respect you as my brother, but this time around, I lost my respect for you. I’m sorry to say this, but you are really wrong… I really disagree with you. As a matter of fact, these construction workers you insulted were the reason why the Tulfo name prevailed from the very start,” he said in a radio interview.